1. Field of the Invention
Disclosed methods and systems relate to the technical field of human computer interaction and, more specifically, to a system for processing images of human hands to allow interaction with a computer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Determining the 3D pose of a user's hands, including their 3D position, orientation and the configuration of the fingers is referred to as “hand pose estimation.” Hand pose estimation across a time sequence is referred to as “hand tracking.” Hand tracking permits natural hand motions or gestures to be used as input to a computer system. However, traditional methods of hand tracking through image processing have not been efficient enough or robust enough to control a computer system in real-time. Instead, users have had to wear special instrumented or patterned gloves for a computer system to track the hands.
In some applications, such as computer aided design or entertainment applications, having to wear a glove to facilitate hand tracking is undesirable and impractical. Instrumented gloves are cumbersome and can reduce dexterity. Any type of glove can be uncomfortable to wear for a significant amount of time. The act of putting on or taking off a glove can be tedious and detract from the task at hand. Ideally, a user can interact with a computer using his hands in a completely unencumbered manner.
There is, therefore, a need in the art for improved system and methods for gesture-based control.